After the screening this week, I thought a lot about how these three very different shows would work in America. As we all know, Downton Abbey has become an international phenomenon – including here in the United States – but why? Besides the interesting storyline, relatable characters you want to root for, intriguing relationships just starting to grow, and drama oozing from every scene with just enough biting one-liners to keep you guessing, it’s really nothing special. But seriously, all joking aside, I really enjoyed Downton Abbey. The feeling like you are escaping to this past world and getting an insider look at both ends of the hierarchy really pulls you in. It was easily my favorite of all the shows from this week. It lived up to all the hype, and I definitely will watch the rest of the series.
Harry Hill’s TV Burp, as was mentioned in class, instantly made me think of The Soup here in the US. I was nervous whether I would find anything funny during this show because I hadn’t been too impressed with the other comedic shows we have seen (which will be continued with Benidorm later.) No, not every segment had me falling out of my chair laughing, but neither does The Soup, so I really felt this show was where American and British humor may have some crossover. It was silly, light-hearted and hilarious but it didn’t take itself too seriously. If other British “comedies” had this type of humor I would probably enjoy it more, but this style of show does not seem to be replicated multiple times throughout Britain. The essence of British comedy is just different from American comedy, even if TV Burp has some similarities to what we would watch over here.
Finally to Benidorm. Honestly I was just confused throughout most of this show. It really just wasn’t my cup of tea. Grandma had some good zingers in there, and the man who basically shops around his wife was funny, but the rest of the characters and plot lines didn’t do anything for me. Again, I think this goes back to the differing types of humor between the British and Americans, since Benidorm is so popular across the pond. Comedies that I am used to have jokes bursting from the seams and usually end with a heartfelt message or a wrap-up of the stories from the episode. Benidorm did the exact opposite, which kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. This episode ended with a monumental cliffhanger that was in no way funny or endearing. Maybe it was just this one episode that did not end on a good note, but this is not my idea of comedy. I definitely don’t think this show would be have the same success in the US as it has in the UK, but if that’s the kind of “comedy” they like over there, more power to you.
I thought it was interesting to see the difference in comedic tone within British TV by looking at Benidorm and TV Burp. Clearly, TV Burp is meant to appeal to a family audience – it focuses on a wide variety of TV shows that parents likely watch with a goofy, almost unbearable take. Benidorm deals with much more complex and grown-up issues that some adults might not find funny and most parents probably don’t want to explain to their kids. I think that the latter is something we see a lot on American TV, but the family-focused show isn’t something we really see on our network channels. Family programming is relegated to a cable station like ABC Family or maybe Disney (or at least used to be), but our networks aren’t as focused on mixed programming.
This week I decided to avoid commenting on Downton Abbey (way more difficult than you would think–just look through seemingly every blog post this week). So I want to talk about Harry Hill. Obviously we’ve heard the comparisons to the Soup and rightly so. The shows are basically the same concept with basically the same humor. However, what it really reminded me of was an old-timey variety show that used to dominate the airwaves in America when you could either watch ABC, CBS, or NBC. To me, Hill was very slap-sticky which doesn’t really fit into any of the British comedy we have watched, which is probably why I laughed more at the intentional humor in this show (trust me, laughed hysterically at other shows that weren’t trying to be funny) than any other British comedy we have watched. Dry humor is okay to a point, but if it doesn’t make me laugh, than what is the redeeming quality of that show? At what point does it just become a drama? If I’m going to watch a “comedy” (and I use that title loosely with Harry Hill) then I want to laugh at it..and TV Burp was the closest to fitting that bill this semester.
I agree in that Benidorm left a lot to be desired. When I was in London for Christmas break I watched a movie with the cast of the Inbetweeners that followed their spring break trip. This movie followed the some of the same uncomfortable, trashy, and cringeworthy humor that was showcased in Benidorm. What made me laugh and enjoy the Inbetweeners movie more was the fact that the cast was my age, and thus experiencing more relatable things. On the other hand, the cast of Benidorm left you wanting to join a gym and never stay in an all-inclusive resort EVER AGAIN. Both the movie and the show disgusted me, however, the age demographic of the latter left me a little out of the loop.
I agree that Harry Hill’s TV Burp resembled American humor. I was surprised at how much we all “laughed out loud” throughout the sketches. While the laugh track was outrageous and took some of the quality out of the show I was able to look past it. I found I was able to relax while watching TV Burp whereas in other British comedies I am tense that something very serious will happen, I will miss a dark/dry joke, etc. It was a relief to watch Harry Hill be silly because, unfortunately, I think some of the British shows we watch give me the impression that British people might take themselves a little too serious. I wonder if Americans are the only people who think British humor is nothing to write home about, or if other countries who view their comedies would agree?
Something interesting to consider I think would be whether an American version of “Downton Abbey” would do well over here. I don’t mean a bunch of Americans trying to pass themselves as Edwardian Brits, but a period piece about similar themes. We certainly don’t have quite the notion of a landed aristocracy with titles, large houses and oodles of servants, but there are certainly some parallels over here – after all, it’s not like we don’t have wealthy people in big homes with servants.
Do we like the show so much because it does a brilliant job of dramatizing important social, cultural and historic themes alongside good old fashioned drama, or is there something specific about its time and place in history that makes it so darn good? What’s more, would we Americans like seeing a piece of our cultural history like that as much as we like seeing a piece of posh Britain’s cultural history, with all their accents and pretty costumes?
I don’t have an answer – I was just wondering how well a truly American adaptation of “Downton Abbey” would play.
I felt similarly about Benidorm. What, exactly, is that show trying to say? There were a few laughs here and there, as people have said (although they felt more like relief laughter, “finally, something we can sort of laugh at”), but what is the real aim of Benidorm? You’re dealing with some pretty heavy issues here in family dynamics–a crumbling marriage, teenage pregnancy, a dysfunctional family, and I don’t even want to touch that sexed up elderly couple. It felt like the show sort of wanted to be a Modern Family meshed with Parenthood, but failed on both fronts. It wasn’t funny or touching or thoughtful or anything. Is this British? Are we all missing something?